Care Home Covid Death Statistics “Misleading And Unfair”

Figures for the number of Covid deaths in individual care homes are misleading and should not be taken at face value, one of the country’s biggest group of providers warned today.

West Midlands Care Association leaders said publishing the number of Covid deaths in each of England’s homes during the pandemic was tantamount to compiling a league table.

Association joint chief executive Debbie Le Quesne said: “We must never forget the terrible toll that this horrible disease inflicted on those who live in care homes, their loved ones and the staff who care for them. This data represents lives that were lost to the pandemic within care, and the publication of this data will mean that many families and staff will feel that loss again.”

Ms Le Quesne, whose association represents 550 care providers across the Midlands region, spoke out ahead of the anticipated publication by the Care Quality Commission on July 21 of the number of Covid deaths in individual care homes nationwide between April 10, 2020, and March 31, 2021.

The release of the figures, prompted by a Freedom of Information request, represents a more detailed breakdown of the number of Covid deaths which the CQC has previously published weekly only for the care home sector in its entirety.

Ms Le Quesne said: “You are not comparing like with like and are ignoring a host of key variations and background circumstances which make the ranking of headline figures grossly misleading and unfair.”

“For example, working with the NHS, some care homes accepted residents knowing they had Covid in an effort to take pressure off hospitals. Extra infection control measures were put in place for those residents with COVID to protect the staff. Those care homes became designated Covid homes so it was to be expected that they may have higher Covid death rates.”

“Association members were hampered at the start of this crisis by non-existent or conflicting advice, being forced to accept residents discharged from hospitals who were not tested or whose results were unknown, all while operating without proper access to PPE.”

Ms Le Quesne said: “Part of the job of a care home is to support residents to have dignified deaths without needing to go to hospital with the support of health professionals and families.

“These are often old and frail people who have come to the end of their lives. These people are vulnerable to colds, flu and any virus or bacteria with which they come into contact.

“Our members had many residents who died during the pandemic of heart attacks, old age, dementia and strokes, to name just a few conditions, but because they had Covid in their system or had given a positive test in the previous 28 days Covid was put on their death certificate, much to the annoyance of families, homes and organisations like dementia support groups.”

She said that during a time of unprecedented upheaval, and despite having received no proper advice from the Government, members had acted quickly and decisively to implement procedures to mitigate the spread of the virus, restricting visiting, adopting increased use of PPE and increasing cleanliness and food preparation.

Ms Le Quesne concluded: “If our members had not reacted as and when they did the outcome would have been far worse.

“They have gone above and beyond to protect the vulnerable people in their care, many care home staff having given up holidays, time off and even having lived within the homes to minimise the spread of the infection.”